Abstract
(1) Background: As a novel type of non-coding RNA with a stable closed-loop structure, circular RNA (circRNA) can interact with microRNA (miRNA) and influence the expression of miRNA target genes. However, circRNA involved in pituitary growth hormone (GH) regulation is poorly understood. Our previous study revealed protein kinase C alpha (PRKCA) as the target gene of miR-709. Currently, the expression and function of rno_circRNA_0001004 in the rat pituitary gland is not clarified; (2) Methods: In this study, both bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase report assays showed a target relationship between rno_circRNA_0001004 and miR-709. Furthermore, the rno_circRNA_0001004 overexpression vector and si-circ_0001004 were constructed and transfected into GH3 cells; (3) Results: We found that rno_circRNA_0001004 expression was positively correlated with the PRKCA gene and GH expression levels, while it was negatively correlated with miR-709. In addition, overexpression of rno-circ_0001004 also promoted proliferation and relieved the inhibition of miR-709 in GH3 cells; (4) Conclusions: Our findings show that rno_circ_0001004 acts as a novel sponge for miR-709 to regulate GH synthesis and cell proliferation, and are the first case of discovery of the regulatory role of circRNA_0001004 in pituitary GH.
Highlights
Growth hormone (GH) is a key hormone secreted from the anterior pituitary, and has received much attention as it regulates key physiological functions such as growth and development [1]
We have previously shown that the miR-709 is highly expressed in the pituitary and inhibits the GH synthesis and suppresses the viability of GH3 cells [12] by targeting Protein Kinase C alpha (PKCA)
(PKC) is a class of phospholipid-dependent kinases that participate in regulation of protein secretion including GH and luteinizing hormone (LH) [13,14], as well as regulating cell proliferation [15]
Summary
Growth hormone (GH) is a key hormone secreted from the anterior pituitary, and has received much attention as it regulates key physiological functions such as growth and development [1]. Studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) can regulate the synthesis and secretion of GH [2,3,4]. More and more evidence has demonstrated that miRNA functions broadly in development, physiology, and pathology by influencing cell proliferation, cell differentiation, cell migration, apoptosis, metabolism and signal transduction [6,7,8,9,10,11]. We have previously shown that the miR-709 is highly expressed in the pituitary and inhibits the GH synthesis and suppresses the viability of GH3 cells [12] by targeting Protein Kinase C alpha (PKCA). Protein Kinase C (PKC) is a class of phospholipid-dependent kinases that participate in regulation of protein secretion including GH and luteinizing hormone (LH) [13,14], as well as regulating cell proliferation [15]
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